Mad Cow Disease In Sheep (first published 6th April 1997)


Mad Cow Disease is now affecting - and killing - sheep.
      And people who eat lamb or mutton are exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease - the human version of Mad Cow Disease.
      I believe the Ministry of Agriculture knows that sheep are affected but is suppressing the news - and exposing millions to this terrible disease - to protect farmers and the British meat industry.
      The government and the meat industry know that if the news about the link between sheep and Mad Cow Disease becomes widely known, the British meat industry will probably never recover.
      A world wide ban on all British meat - for the foreseeable future - would be inevitable. And the government would suffer too.
      Last year I warned readers that I believed Mad Cow Disease was affecting sheep.
      Now, I know that I was right.
      I have seen a sheep dying from Mad Cow Disease.
      And the sheep I saw was just one of many.
      Mad Cow Disease has spread because farmers have fed sheep with feed containing bits of contaminated cow.
      The sheep I watched dying had all the symptoms of Mad Cow Disease. There can be no doubt that the meat industry's worst nightmare is now about to turn real.
      Mad Cow Disease started in sheep - as scrapie.
      But Mad Cow Disease in sheep is very different to scrapie.
      Sheep suffering from Mad Cow Disease show very similar symptoms to affected cattle.
      I have absolutely no doubt that people can get Mad Cow Disease from eating affected beef.
      And I have no doubt that they can also get it from eating lamb.
      How much longer is it going to be before the government - and the Ministry of Agriculture - admits that Mad Cow Disease is NOW affecting sheep?
      Will they tell the truth this year, next year or in ten years time?
      They aren't going to be able to hide the facts forever.
      I realise that not everyone agrees with my views about respect for animals.
      But this warning is about people not animals.
      If you eat lamb or mutton you are exposing yourself to a very real risk of a hideous death.
      It is your choice.
      Remember that (among numerous accurate warnings which aroused derision from the government) I warned about the risks of eating beef back in 1990.
      My track record on health warnings is second to none.
      I have never issued a false warning. But I have issued many early warnings which have turned out to be accurate.
      So you have to choose: trust me or trust the Government.


Copyright Vernon Coleman 2003